The present invention relates to computerized systems for monitoring a facility such as a building or complex of several buildings, and more particularly to monitoring systems in which a central station receives inputs from several control panels, each control panel in turn supporting remote sensing devices such as smoke detectors, flow sensors and heat sensors distributed throughout the facility.
For safety and security, indoor facilities of any size can be equipped with monitoring systems that employ detectors distributed throughout the facility and a central monitoring station coupled to the detectors to receive messages. Each system can include a variety of types of detectors, e.g., smoke detectors, ion detectors and heat detectors to sense fire, flow detectors, motion detectors, and security detectors that recognize unauthorized tampering with doors or other entry points. Typically, a series of detectors are coupled in a circuit supported by a control panel, and control panels usually are capable of supporting several circuits of sensing devices.
In larger facilities, several control panels are coupled to a single central monitoring station, perhaps overseeing hundreds of detectors. While the number of detectors involved by itself increases the complexity of such larger systems, a major contributing factor is the lack of uniformity if different types of control panels are involved, particularly if the panels are supplied by different manufacturers. While key information about devices, e.g., type, location, nature of a fault or alarm indication, is common among different types of panels, the arrangement and textual representation of such information varies among panels, adding complexity and difficulty which may adversely affect an operator's response in the critical minutes immediately following an alarm, reported fault condition or other alert.
In connection with some monitoring systems, hardware converters (semiconductor chips) have been developed to translate information from different types of panels, then provide the translated information to the central monitoring station. While these devices have enhanced uniformity somewhat, they are costly and lack the power to convert all of the key information.
Along with the lack of uniformity in messages when several control panels are involved, a further difficulty of systems is the lack of flexibility to tailor written messages associated with reported alarm conditions and fault conditions.
Many present day monitoring systems include graphics capabilities for displaying an image of the monitored facility, e.g., blueprints, site maps, floor plans and similar facility representations. Providing such images in conjunction with alarm or fault reports can assist the operator in more rapidly and accurately determining the appropriate response. At the same time there is a need for visual images that more clearly direct an operator to the source of trouble and more readily suggest the appropriate response. Further, previous systems lack sufficient flexibility in adjusting images when devices are added to the system, or when locations of devices presently in the system are changed.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a facility monitoring system in which messages from a variety of control panels are presented to an operator in a consistent, uniform format.
Another object is to provide a facility monitoring system with graphic capabilities for displaying a facility map in combination with images representing the various system devices as to type, state (or condition) and location.
A further object is to provide, in connection with a system with the foregoing graphics capabilities, a process for conveniently changing the facility image in response to adding, removing or relocating devices.
Yet another object is to provide a process for automatically advising an operator of the need to add device images to a facility image, as new devices are added to the monitoring system.